


every high got a low (no one to blame)

by cornerkick



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F, just gals being pals etc etc
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-16
Updated: 2019-12-07
Packaged: 2021-01-31 16:23:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,824
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21449167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cornerkick/pseuds/cornerkick
Summary: She just hadn’t expected it from someone other than Sonny.Or:Kelley takes care of everyone, part 1 of infinity.
Relationships: Kelley O'Hara & Lindsey Horan, Kelley O'Hara/Lindsey Horan
Comments: 8
Kudos: 67





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please note: this is absolutely Not how I think Olympic rosters will shake out but creative license^tm.
> 
> This is all your fault for joking about this, guys. Enjoy.
> 
> Unbeta'd (and barely proofread let's be honest, here) so all mistakes are mine. Title from "I'm Not Alright" by Loud Luxury.

They draw against France. 

It isn’t the end of the world. They’re still in the group stage, still favored to win it all, but the game leaves a bitter taste in Lindsey’s mouth anyway. She keeps looking for a ball-in that will never come, keeps trying to drop the ball back to the safety of her defenders, and while she’s getting her time and her touches, there’s something very obviously _ off _ about her game. 

When the perfect ball in came towards her in the 88th minute, with the game on her foot (or, really, on her head), she’d sent the ball wide and high. 

The ball had fallen right into her lap. She just hadn’t expected it from someone other than Sonny.

After, Lindsey is one of the first back in the locker room. No one tries to bother her. Actually, everyone seems happy to let her wallow. She’s been playing poorly since the final roster dropped. Well, poorly by Horan standards; she’s getting her minutes and her touches.

She just can’t _ finish_, and it’s driving her slowly crazy. 

No one’s saying it, but she can tell her teammates know. She’s seen the same look in their eyes when Kelley is just a millisecond off on a pass or when she blew her coverage trying to slide-tackle someone who was just a hair faster. 

Kelley misses Alex. Lindsey misses Emily. 

And so, they gravitate to each other. 

She’s not even really sure how it started. Probably during training camp. After Alex’s cut and Sonny’s injury, they’d ended up as roommates. No one else had wanted to deal with them, either, so it stuck.

That’s why, half an hour later, when the others are wandering around the Village, Lindsey’s already on the couch, wearing a sweatshirt just a little bit too small, trying to finagle her Netflix into working across an ocean.

She’s halfway through trying to figure out the time difference between Portland and Tokyo when Kelley bustles through the door. Lindsey doesn’t even look up from her phone, thumb hovering over her text thread with Emily, and that turns out to be a pretty fatal mistake.

Before Lindsey can even glance up from the screen, Kelley’s crossed the room to stand behind her, leaning into the back of the couch. Lindsey wouldn’t even have noticed her if not for the firm hand that lands on her shoulder. Kelley doesn’t say anything, just works her fingers into a spot where Lindsey’s been nursing a knot for a week now, digs into the muscle there and clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth.

“What?” Lindsey says, partly because she doesn’t know what Kelley’s doing and mostly to break the silence that has settled over them. They’ve been living in each other’s space for weeks now, and though Kelley’s not as messy as Sonny always is, the way she falls into jokes is comfortingly familiar. 

Kelley’s not joking, now, though. When Lindsey turns her head to look at her roommate, she can’t really read Kelley’s expression at all. There’s a little crease in her forehead, and she’s not quite frowning, but there’s no hint of her usual smile, either. It’s...weird, Lindsey decides. She’s seen Kelley be serious before, of course she has, but she’s not usually like this off of the pitch.

It’s unsettling. (It’s a little bit nice, too, when Kelley moves her hand from Lindsey’s shoulder to her jaw and uses the leverage to make Lindsey look at her properly. Have Kelley’s eyes always been that color? With all those speck-

Lindsey doesn’t even really have time to process those thoughts, because Kelley’s eyes drop to Lindsey’s mouth, then to her eyes, and back again, before she finally opens her mouth. When she does, her voice is low. “Can I kiss you?”

Lindsey’s not sure what she was expecting, but it definitely wasn’t _ that_. It must show on her face, because Kelley keeps taking. “If not, that’s fine, I just figured, well, that sucked. Maybe I can make it can suck a little less.” Lindsey just nods and Kelley _ does _ crack a smile, then, a small one, but genuine. 

“Cool.” And then they’re kissing. It doesn’t really work at first, and it’s partially because of the position. Kelley’s craning her neck while she leans over the back of the couch and Lindsey’s twisted almost all the way around in her seat. Their noses collide at first, and then their teeth knock against each other and Lindsey’s laughing and then _ Kelley’s _ laughing and that’s when it fits.

If Lindsey turns her head a little bit, Kelley can reach her without having to lean over too far, and, _ oh _, Kelley’s good at this. 

In the back of her mind, Lindsey has always known that. Kelley’s been doing this -kissing girls, not making out with teammates, though she’s pretty sure _ that’s _ true, too- for way longer than Lindsey has. The way she kisses is how she defends: solid, consistent, and aggressive in a way that makes Lindsey sigh into Kelley’s mouth when she bites down on her bottom lip. 

That makes Kelley smile, effectively breaking the kiss. She’s still got one hand on Lindsey’s jaw, thumb absentmindedly brushing along her cheek, head tipped slightly and lips pursed, like she’s trying to figure something out. 

Like she’s trying to figure _ Lindsey _ out. 

It makes Lindsey squirm a little bit. She half wants Kelley to kiss her again and half wants to disappear into her bedroom and not come out until noon tomorrow. “You’re doing well,” Kelley says, and Lindsey rolls her eyes. Kelley’s hand slides to the nape of Lindsey’s neck and her fingers curl into the soft hair there, giving it a barely-there tug that makes Lindsey exhale softly. “Even if you don’t see it. But if you’d rather forget about all of that…” She jerks her chin towards the windows, out at the Village, and Lindsey finds herself nodding. Her mouth is really, really dry. She doesn’t think she’d be able to say anything at all right now, and all she can taste is chapstick that’s the wrong flavor. 

“If we’re going to do this,” Kelley’s saying, shrugging out of her jacket and rounding the couch to stand in front of Lindsey, who turns back around fully to look at her. “You have to let me know if it’s too much, or if you want to stop, or if I do something you don’t like-”

Lindsey reaches for Kelley’s wrist and grins when she feels her pulse jump beneath her thumb, just a little bit. “Kel,” she says, shaking her head and giving her wrist the smallest squeeze. “Stop talking.”

And, just like that, it’s like a switch clicks in Kelley’s head. She rests both palms on Lindsey’s thighs, ducks her head, and kisses her again. This time, they get it right away. Lindsey stops trying to match Kelley and Kelley takes control and right now? Right now that’s _ exactly _what Lindsey needs. Kelley does something with her tongue that makes Lindsey’s breath hitch, a little bit, and she ends up reaching blindly for her. It’s only when Kelley leans back and away from her that Lindsey registers something: this is not about Kelley.

Kelley just smiles, shakes her head, and tugs at the hem of Lindsey’s sweatshirt. “I want this off, I think.” And, just like that, Lindsey’s scrambling to respond, shrugging out of the shirt and flinging it aside. She’s blushing, and Kelley settles herself right in Lindsey’s lap so that she can chase that blush with her mouth, trailing kisses along Lindsey’s jaw and neck, nibbling at her collarbone just to hear that sharp exhale again. 

“I wanna- Can I…” Lindsey fumbles with the words, and her voice is thick, and she sort of hates it, but when Kelley just sucks at her pulse point, not hard enough to leave a mark but hard enough to make her squirm, she also reaches for Lindsey’s hands and guides them to her own hips, and Lindsey’s kind of grateful for it. It gives her something to hold on to while Kelley’s kisses drift lower. 

“I’m gonna take this off,” Kelley says, finding Lindsey’s bra clasp and leaning back enough to look at Lindsey in the eye. When she shifts in Lindsey’s lap, it gives her a little-bit-but-not-enough, and Lindsey’s a little bit embarrassed about how her hips rock up without her meaning to. It’s _ been a while _ , though, because of training and because of the Olympics and she’s just...really wound up, and Kelley seems to _ know that _ without having barely touched her. “Hey,” she says, pulling Lindsey out of her head and running her fingertips along Lindsey’s collarbone, tapping lightly. “You still wanna do this?”

Lindsey understands that Kelley’s not going to do anything but sit in her lap if she doesn’t remember how to use her words, so she manages a “Yeah. Yeah, go on.” And that’s all Kelley really needs. She opens Lindsey’s bra easily and Lindsey shrugs out of it, and they’ve been in dozens of locker rooms, and it’s nothing Kelley hasn’t seen before, but Kelley still pauses for a second, just to look, and the heat from her face is spreading down across Lindsey’s chest, now. She’s kind of wishing they’d turned off the lights.

“God, Lindsey.” And Kelley almost _ never _ uses her first name, so that’s, of course, what makes Lindsey’s stomach flip, not uncomfortably. “You’re hot.” She says it like a fact, like it’s something everyone knows, and maybe everyone except Lindsey _ does. _

Then, she doesn’t say anything at all. Kelley kisses her and trails the hand that had settled at Lindsey’s stomach along her side and cups a breast, rolls her fingertips over the nipple, and presses down firmly while her mouth drifts lower, leaving a warm line of kisses along Lindsey’s neck and clavicle. 

Lindsey leans her head against the back of the couch and that’s when Kelley moves. A little whine builds in the back of Lindsey’s throat when she feels her get up and off of her lap, but then Kelley’s hands are on her thighs and then behind her knees as she pulls Lindsey forward. It makes Lindsey’s head snaps up and she nearly faints seeing Kelley O’Hara kneeling between her legs. 

Her first thought is that she’s glad Kelley’s ankles are shitty, not her knees. Her second thought is- “You really don’t have to.”

“What if I want to?” Kelley asks, raising her eyebrows and wetting her lips with her tongue. Lindsey feels like she’s going to pass out again and lets her knees fall open. That’s what Kelley wants, apparently, as she starts tugging at Lindsey’s sweats. Lindsey lifts her hips up, wants to help, but Kelley just pats her knee to get her to relax again. That’s easier said than done, though, especially when Kelley sits forward on her knees, her hands on either of Lindsey’s to press her legs further apart, and drops a warm, wet kiss to her hip bone, and then the other, and then each inner thigh. With each movement, Lindsey can feel herself getting more and more antsy, and she can _ also _ feel Kelley smiling against her skin. 

“What do you like?” Kelley’s talking again, and Lindsey wonders if she ever shuts up. She’ll have to test that theory later. Much later. 

“I’d like to get off,” she grits out, and Kelley laughs again, not unkindly, and rests her chin on Lindsey’s thigh.

“If you’re good,” she says, and it goes right between Lindsey’s legs. 

It’s probably because of the game, she reasons, while Kelley hooks her fingers in Lindsey’s underwear and drags it down and away. Lindsey’s not usually into that, doesn’t need to hear it, but maybe she hasn’t heard it enough lately, and maybe when it’s _ Kelley _ saying it, it’s not such a bad thing. 

Kelley uses her fingers, first, just barely-there pressure as she spreads some of the wetness gathered there to where Lindsey’s most sensitive. “Linds.” And there it is again, her first name -nickname, even- that sounds really, really good in Kelley’s husky tone right now. “You’re amazing.” And then Kelley does shut up, only because her mouth is busy with other things. She is, predictably, really good at this, too. She alternates pressure with her tongue, props her chin on her free hand, and works Lindsey over with her tongue, bringing her almost the edge twice before pulling back entirely. That second time, Lindsey curses under her breath, levels Kelley with a look, and her hair’s a mess, coming out of its elastic, and her eyes are dark with blown pupils, and Kelley looks so put together, still fully dressed, hair pulled back neatly, and it’s overwhelming.

Kelley knows that, too, because of course she does, and she replaces her mouth with her fingers. Lindsey takes two like it’s nothing, which makes _ Kelley _ breathe out loudly, though she doesn’t stop what she’s doing. She finds a pace that works for them both, uses her tongue where Lindsey’s most sensitive, and pairs pressing down with it with twisting her wrist and curling her fingers in a way she knows Lindsey will like. 

She does, and it only takes a few more strokes before she’s falling apart all around Kelley. She’s afraid her thighs might crush her, though Kelley seems unphased by it, merely helps Lindsey through it with a few more gentle touches, and then leans her cheek against Lindsey’s thigh, an almost fond expression upon her face as she looks up at her. 

“Come here.”

“I mean, _ you _ just did.” And just like that, it could go back to normal, except Lindsey practically drags Kelley up and into a kiss she tastes herself in, and Kelley sighs contentedly and then gives Lindsey’s side a little squeeze as she stands up, stretches, and tosses Lindsey’s hoodie back at her. 

“Do you want me to…?”

Kelley just blinks at her and chuckles softly. “I’m good.” 

Lindsey’s brain is still trying to catch up with what just happened, so it takes her a few moments to process it. When she does, she blushes again. “Oh.”

“Yeah. I’ll be right back. I need to shower. Hydrate, Horan.” 

And there it is. She’s back to Horan and Kelley’s back is to her. She’s not sure how she feels about it.

-

Later, after they’ve both showered and eaten, they’re back on the couch, but this time, there’s a volleyball match on TV and a Schitt’s Creek rerun on Lindsey’s laptop. Kelley’s got her chin propped on Lindsey’s shoulder and an arm loose around her waist and, after about ten minutes, she tips them sideways with only minor protesting from Lindsey, who situates herself a little bit awkwardly. She always feels like she’s too big for this, especially when she’s horizontal, but Kelley’s warm at her back and she smells like coconut and reminds her a little bit of home, so she settles when Kelley drapes an arm over her waist and presses her cold nose into the back of her neck. 

“Hey!”

“What?” Kelley says innocently, but Lindsey can feel the smirk pressed into her skin, too. They’re quiet for a moment, and this is comfortable silence. Kelley’s breath evens out and Lindsey’s pretty sure she’s fallen asleep. That’s the only reason why she says it.

“I miss her.” 

Kelley’s voice is heavy with sleep when she replies. “Miss her too.” Lindsey’s not sure who Kelley’s talking about. Probably Sonny. Definitely Alex. 

Lindsey’s talking about Emily. Kelley’s arm tightens just barely around her stomach, reaching for Lindsey’s hand and giving it a little squeeze. “I’ll take care of you ‘cause she can’t.”

And if that’s what Kelley needs, right now, Lindsey’s not going to complain about it.

“Thanks.” 

“Don’t mention it.”

And she doesn’t.


	2. you're not alright, i'm not alright

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> surprise!
> 
> this is mostly a little bit of porn w/ feelings (again).
> 
> fic and chapter titles from the loud luxury song.
> 
> DO NOT proceed if you are under 18 thanks.

They win.

They win and it’s all a blur to Lindsey. 

She plays a full 90. She gets an assist on Tobin’s goal and scores one herself. All she can really remember is that Kelley sent the ball in and she knew it was going in before she turned her back on the net. 

She also remembers that Kelley had put her hand on the back of her neck and curled her fingers in the damp hair at the back of her neck and brought her face so close that she thought they were going to kiss right there on the pitch, but then she’d just told her to  _ keep fucking pushing _ and that was that.

Now, Lindsey’s in some club in the village with a too-heavy medal draped over her neck and not enough alcohol to handle this. Mal and Rose keep trying to drag her onto the makeshift dance floor but she isn’t in the mood. 

The gold shouldn’t feel suffocating, should it? It feels like it’s choking her. 

She takes it off and stuffs it into her pocket. She finishes the rest of her beer and then gets up to leave. 

The hair on the back of her neck stands up a little bit as she crosses the club to the door. She knows, without having to look, that a pair of hazel eyes are following her every move. 

(She knows a lot of things about Kelley now that she never thought she would.)

Lindsey ignores Kelley, which she knows will probably bother her, and heads back to her room. 

She doesn’t feel much like celebrating.

-

Lindsey’s only been in their room for fifteen minutes when the door clicks open. She’s already taken a quick shower, scrubbed off the sweat and tears that had clung to her eyelashes and stained her cheeks, and is sprawled out in one of the beds in an oversized sweatshirt and a slightly too small pair of shorts with #14 on them.

The TV’s on, playing highlights of the game, but Lindsey’s busy scrolling through her phone. The medal is abandoned on the nightstand. 

Kelley’s still wearing hers, because of course she is. She does take it off when she gets further into the room and places it almost reverently on top of the clean clothes in her suitcase.

She takes one look at Lindsey, another at the medal on the nightstand, and the way her eyes narrow should  _ not _ send a spike of warmth through her, but Lindsey can’t really help it. They’ve been doing this thing long enough that even the subtlest change in expression gets to her now. 

Kelley shrugs out of her jacket, kicks off her shoes, and crosses the room in two quick strides. Lindsey’s brain is too slow to catch up and before she knows it, Kelley leans in, grips her chin with one hand, and drags her into a filthy kiss.

It’s all tongue and desperate and Lindsey makes a noise of surprise that melts into a groan halfway through. Kelley’s hand drifts slightly to trace along her throat, fingers pressing into the hollow experimentally. 

Lindsey swallows and Kelley just presses harder before trailing her fingertips to Lindsey’s collarbone and digging in. It’s enough to hurt a little bit, but it also takes Lindsey’s attention away from the ache between her ribs that has nothing to do with getting stepped on during the match. 

“Still  _ sunshine _ ?”

Of course Kelley’s asking about her safe word. Of  _ fucking _ course. 

Lindsey just nods.

Kelley clicks her tongue against the roof of her mouth and lets go of her completely, which is the exact opposite of what Lindsey wants. 

“Yeah,” she says, voice thick. Kelley’s still just looking at her and there’s that shift in her expression, the little softening around her eyes that reminds Lindsey this isn’t just about sex. It scares her, actually, and she’s glad when it disappears. “Yes. Still sunshine. You, too?” 

“Yeah.” Kelley’s still staring at her and it makes Lindsey want to squirm, but she knows that’ll just make her hesitate again, and Lindsey can’t deal with all of this stopping and starting. She just needs to get off.

Kelley  _ knows _ that, too. Lindsey’s not sure how she feels about that.

“Take this off,” Kelley says, tugging at the hem of Lindsey’s sweatshirt and plucking her gold medal off of the bedside table. “And put  _ this _ on.” 

Lindsey hesitates. Kelley weighs the medal in one hand. It’s heavier than the ones from London. Or maybe that’s just the weight of missing them that’s doing that. Either way, she thinks it’ll look nice against Lindsey’s neck. 

“No?”

“Yeah,” Lindsey replies, sitting up and shimmying out of her sweatshirt. She’d been going to sleep, so she’s not wearing anything underneath it, and Kelley’s right. When she places the medal around Lindsey’s neck, the gold falls to her chest and it looks amazing. 

“Yeah,” Kelley agrees, eyes dark. She wets her lips with her tongue and Lindsey sits up on her knees on the bed, shifts so that she can place her hands on Kelley’s shoulders, and kisses her full on the mouth. 

It’s a little bit messy and a lot desperate and Lindsey sucks Kelley’s bottom lip between both of hers, ends up breaking the kiss with a satisfied smirk when Kelley exhales sharply. 

“Are you just going to sit there,” Kelley says, her voice low. “Or are you going to fuck me?”

It goes right to Lindsey’s core. Her mouth is suddenly bone dry and she can’t find words. So, she does the first thing she thinks of: she wraps an arm around Kelley’s waist while she finds her lips again, kisses her quiet and twists enough to pull her into bed and press her into the mattress.

She always like she takes up too much space like this, like she’s going to crush Kelley if she doesn’t brace herself on an arm, but when she gets a thigh between Kelley’s legs and rocks her hips a little bit, she gets a soft little noise from the back of Kelley’s throat for her efforts while she grinds up into her, and Lindsey kind of forgets all about that.

She focuses on getting Kelley out of her clothes, fingers fumbling a little bit with the buttons of her shirt, but she manages. Kelley takes her bra off herself, because Lindsey misses the clasp twice. 

Lindsey kisses the corner of Kelley’s mouth, chases a splash of freckles along her jaw on neck with her open mouth, and sucks a bruise into the spot where her shoulder and neck meet. 

People will see. If she doesn’t cover it up, people will see. The thought spurs Lindsey onward as she palms a breast roughly, thumbs over a perked nipple. 

Kelley’s drunk, and that’s probably part of why she’s so responsive. She keeps arching up into Lindsey’s touch, but her hips are seeking out friction, too, and it makes Lindsey laugh. “Okay,” she breathes into the slope of Kelley’s neck, leaning back so that she can get her hand in Kelley’s jeans.

There’s not really enough room for her to move like she wants to and she sort of ends up teasing her through her underwear, but it makes Kelley whine anyway. 

It’s a little bit hard to believe, still, that she, who is kind of awkward and fumbling, can still do this. Kelley’s wet and her lips are parted a little bit and her hairs spilling free of a messy ponytail. 

Lindsey reaches up to push her hair out of her face and Kelley’s eyelids flutter a little bit. “What,” Kelley says, breaking her trance. “Are we making love or are you gonna take care of me, here, Horan?”

“What do you want?” Lindsey asks, even though she’s pretty sure. She just likes to hear it.

Kelley squirms underneath her and brings a shaking hand to press against her forehead. “Your fingers,” she decides, eyes flicking open. She looks Lindsey dead in the eye when she says “I want you to fuck me like a good girl.”

That’s pretty much all it takes. Lindsey’s never been good at teasing her, but as soon as she says  _ that _ , Lindsey’s a goner. She scrambles to get Kelley naked, then, needing Kelley’s help to peel off her jeans. They end up on the floor with the rest of Kelley’s clothes. 

Kelley looks like she’s going to spontaneously combust. Lindsey’s got a hand on either thigh and she’s pressing in with her thumbs, but she’s nowhere near where Kelley wants her. Lindsey digs in with her thumbs a bit harder. “Okay?”

“Be better if you were doing more than-”

Kelley’s words fade into something closer to a whine when Lindsey runs her fingers along her center over her underwear. Her head tips back and exposes a lot of neck, which Lindsey leans down to press her hot mouth against while she tugs Kelley’s underwear off. She uses two fingers, first, and they slip inside before she even means to because Kelley’s  _ so _ wet. 

“Fuck,” Lindsey groans against Kelley’s throat. She feels the vibrations when Kelley talks.

“That’s the idea.” She’s shifting her hips a little bit, trying to get Lindsey to  _ move _ , and it nudges Lindsey into action. She pushes two fingers inside fully and starts up an easy rhythm, her teeth tracing Kelley’s collarbone as she works her over. 

“Lean back a bit, Lindsey. Wanna see that gold.” She does, and with every thrust, the medal swings forward and then back against her chest. Kelley’s watching it like it’s hypnotizing her and Lindsey wonders what that looks like to her, because it  _ feels _ kind of ridiculous.

“Too gentle, baby, if you want me to come you’re going to have to do better than that.”

Lindsey Horan never backs down from a challenge. 

She leans back on her heels, uses one hand to press Kelley’s thighs further apart. Then, she turns her wrist over, and curls her fingers as she increases the tempo. At this angle, she knows she’s hitting Kelley at just the right spot. With her thumb, she touches Kelley where she’s most sensitive, alternating it with each thrust of her fingers.

“There you go,” Kelley manages. “That’s a good girl, Linds. Almost there.”

What actually tips Kelley over the edge is a sharp nip to the earlobe, a soft whisper of “Just wanna make you feel good.” She feels Kelley clench around her and she’s a little bit surprised. 

It’s not like she hasn’t made Kelley come before, but, usually, it’s because of something she  _ does _ , not because of something she  _ says _ . 

Lindsey files that away for later. 

She helps Kelley down from it with a few soft strokes to the inside of her thigh and she swears she shudders again with that and a chaste kiss to her lips. There’s not even any tongue. Kelley tastes like champagne but it doesn’t really  _ feel _ like a victory. 

“Come on, Superstar,” Kelley says, pushing at Lindsey’s shoulder until she rolls over onto her back. “Your turn.”

-

Later, with the medals back in their boxes and another shower taken, Lindsey curls herself around Kelley, who tucks her head under Lindsey’s chin and throws an arm loosely around her waist. 

“It’s supposed to feel good, right?” Lindsey asks into the dark. For a moment, Kelley doesn’t answer, and Lindsey thinks she’s fallen asleep. She closes her eyes, too, even though she knows she won’t be able to drift off so easily. 

“What?” Kelley asks, voice muffled into Lindsey’s neck and raspy for an entirely different reason. “Sex?”

Lindsey laughs from deep in her belly and it feels so strange, considering the near constant ache in her chest is back. 

“ _ No _ , dumbass. Winning.”

“Oh.” Kelley is quiet for a long time. Lindsey resigns herself that she’s not going to get an answer tonight and settles for pressing a kiss to the crown of Kelley’s head. She guesses she can ask tomorrow, over coffee. 

“I mean, winning is about the people you win with, right? And she’s not here.”

That hits Lindsey like a soccer ball straight to the chest. She has to catch her breath while Kelley leans back enough to look at her in the dark. 

“But you did really good today, kid. She’s proud of you.”

Lindsey waits a moment, lets Kelley have this for a second before saying “Are you talking about the game or about sex?”

“Who says I’m not talking about both?” 

Lindsey can’t stop laughing. If she does, she might start crying, again, and as close as she and Kelley have gotten throughout camp, it’s the last thing she wants to share with her. So she laughs until the air in her lungs runs out, presses close to Kelley, and kisses her lazily.

Kelley gives her her breath back. She’s warm and solid and  _ here _ , and that’s enough to lull Lindsey to sleep tonight, in a foreign country, with a gold medal stuffed in a sock. 

She’s not happy, not exactly, but she’s okay.

She hopes, maybe, she’s helped Kelley be okay, too. 

**Author's Note:**

> Did we have fun?
> 
> Catch me on Twitter @cornerkix_ for more shenanigans


End file.
